GNOTD: Vollmer, Cannon and Jackson Return to Practice – Collins, Coleman and Edelman Absent

Slowly but steadily, the Patriots offensive line is returning to strength. Today, the unit received a much needed boost as the team's starting tackles Sebastian Vollmer and Marcus Cannon, as well as rookie guard Tre' Jackson, returned to practice (via Ryan Hannable):

Julian Edelman, Jamie Collins, Justin Coleman are missing from Patriots practice. Vollmer, Cannon, Tre' Jackson have returned.

Getting the three offensive linemen back is huge, given the current state of the line. Of course, returning to practice is just the first step, and no guarantee that Vollmer, Cannon and Jackson will be active on Monday Night against the Buffalo Bills. Still it is a good sign to see the three players back on the field.

Jamie Collins, in the meantime, missed his sixth straight practice due to an illness and it would not be a surprise if he will also miss his third straight game on Monday. Fellow defender Justin Coleman missed his first practice session of the season. The team's number three cornerback was listed on last week's final injury report with a hand injury. He played on Sunday against the Giants with a cast on his hand but was unable to finish the contest.

The third player to miss practice, Julian Edelman, broke his foot against New York and is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks. No surprises there, as Edelman had surgery on Monday and will slowly work his way back to hopefully return come playoff time.

Because the Patriots play on Monday, they won't release an official injury report today. The first such report will be released tomorrow.